COVID-19 Resources & Support

Women’s Enterprise Centre is focused on supporting women-owned businesses through this crisis so that when it is over you can get back to business as usual. We are keeping our eye on the situation and may provide other offerings in future to address needs as they emerge.

We’re here for you!

We know this situation is fluid, and is changing on a daily basis. We’d like to encourage any of our clients to utilize our complimentary Business Advisory Services if you need an understanding person to talk to about your particular situation.

Resources from Women’s Enterprise Centre

Tell us: What Help Do You Need?

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Have an idea for an upcoming webinar or resource on a topic that would help you and your business during this time? Please submit it here!

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Strength in Numbers: Free Webinar Forum

Our Business Advisors will share the new developments in the types of supports available for business owners, plus we’ll focus on a timely topic based on the types of questions our Business Advisors are hearing from clients.

You’re in charge! This is an open forum and a chance to tell us what you need help with, so we can source some resources for you or brainstorm some solutions. Register for upcoming sessions >>

Free One-on-One Appointments with a Business Advisor

Our Business Advisory team is available to discuss your situation, review your cash flow and generate ideas for how you can navigate this difficult time. Connect with a Business Advisor >>

Contact your bank. Canada’s banks have made a commitment to support businesses and individuals through these difficult times in a responsible, fair, and compassionate way. To help provide some stability for businesses through this time of uncertainty, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is lowering the Domestic Stability Buffer requirement, releasing more than $300 billion of additional lending capacity for Canadian financial institutions.

Community Links

Resource Hubs from our Partners

Connect with your local Chamber of Commerce, as many are holding local roundtables to discuss the specific needs of businesses in your community.

June 2020

Join SBBC as they speak with a Small Business BC Business Advisor on this to consider when reopening your business. This session will be a interactive discussion, with our Covid Support team present to answer any questions you may have on guidelines and expectations as businesses reopen. Learn More or Register

As British Columbia companies return to work, there are many Labour, Employment and Human Rights legal considerations for companies to think about as they look to re-open. This virtual event will feature Andrew Woodhouse, an Associate in Fasken's Labour, Employment, and Human Rights group. Learn More or Register

Join the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce for this week's Business Smarts Online webinar where you will hear first hand insights from the Retail Council of Canada and the Downtown Kelowna Association. The conversation will center around those in the retail industry who now must reconsider their operations and policies; including steps they can take to ensure a strong and safe recovery. Topics we'll cover: State of the retail industry in the COVID-19 era Best practices for recovery and re-opening Learn…

Join the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade for a virtual event about the Province’s restart plan with Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Carole James. Hear from the Finance Minister about the phased approach to restart and recovery in our province and participate in a Q&A. Learn More or Register

Join The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday June 16 from 11am to 12pm for a conversation with Marsha Walden, President and CEO of Destination BC, and Michael J. Ballingall, Senior Vice President of Big White Ski Resort Ltd as we come together as a region to take big steps forward and kick open new doors of opportunity in BC's tourism sector. The panel will discuss the impact of the tourism industry within our regional economy and the recovery efforts…

This digital transformation towards an "online first" sales environment was not projected to happen until 2030. We are now in the middle of it and sales organizations need to move fast to adapt, shift and deploy. Learn More or Register

NEW DATE: Join us on June 16 to have your questions answered by a privacy expert! Working from home might be the safest option for your employees and clients right now, but are you taking the right steps to ensure it’s also a secure option? On June 2, we’re hosting privacy consultant, Marilyn Sing, to share how you can maintain the privacy of your customers’ and employees’ personal information. Marilyn will outline BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) to cover:…

When the going gets tough, women entrepreneurs band together for solutions and support! Everyone is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – but for many business owners, this can be a scary time. Where do you turn for support, what do you do for clients and employees, how can you survive this? We’re here to give you a pep talk and help you find your next step. Join us for an interactive webinar to have your questions answered by a Business Advisor. Every…

When the going gets tough, women entrepreneurs band together for solutions and support! Everyone is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – but for many business owners, this can be a scary time. Where do you turn for support, what do you do for clients and employees, how can you survive this? Whether we are networking, negotiating, or talking to our customers, having conversations that are effective improves our business outcomes. With some simple tools, insights and understanding of what is happening in…

Options for WEC Loan Clients

We know the measures being implemented by the federal government to stop the spread of COVID-19 are having a serious impact on some small business owners, as people are self-isolating and avoiding gathering places. To support our loan clients during this period of uncertainty, Women’s Enterprise Centre is making the following concessions available, upon request and demonstration of need:

1) Existing loan clients

You will have two options to help free up working capital for the months of April, May and June.

Option 1: Existing loan clients may request a 3-month principal payment ‘holiday.’ With this option, we will defer your monthly principal payments in April, May and June. Those deferred principal payments can be made up anytime during the remaining term of the loan.*

Option 2: We will forgive the interest payable on your loan for the months of April, May and June. As of July 1st, interest will again start accruing at the rate specified in your Loan Agreement.*

Option 3: You may defer monthly principal payments, AND have the interest forgiven for the months of April, May and June (i.e. both Options 1 & 2).*

*As of July 2020, regular monthly principal and interest payments will resume.

2) New loan clients

You may take advantage of a 6-month period between the time your loan is approved and when the funds must be drawn down. This additional flexibility will allow new loan clients the time to decide whether to continue with their original plans for their business. If there are extenuating circumstances, we are able to discuss lengthening this draw-down period for new loan clients.

The health and safety of our staff, clients, partners and friends is of utmost importance, so we’re doing our part to limit non-essential travel and practice social distancing by modifying how we deliver our services over the coming weeks.

Skills Training Workshops

Until further notice, all upcoming WEC-hosted training events are being delivered by webinar or rescheduled. View upcoming webinars >>

One-to-One Mentoring, Peer Mentoring Groups and Taking the Stage®

Current and planned Peer Mentoring and Taking the Stage® (TTS) groups may choose to meet via Zoom or postpone their sessions. If you’ve registered for a Peer Mentoring or TTS group, your facilitator will be in touch so the group may decide which option works best.

We ask that One-to-One Mentoring pairs temporarily suspend in-person meetings, and meet remotely via phone or Zoom instead. We are happy to support you with setting up Zoom.

Meetings and Business Advisory Appointments

We’re here to support women entrepreneurs! If you’d like to speak with a Business Advisor about your situation, please call us at 1.800.643.7014 or fill out this online form and we will be in touch to schedule a phone call or Zoom meeting

If you already had an in-person appointment booked, your Business Advisor will be in touch to provide details to connect via Zoom.

Events

We’re doing our best to keep our online training and event calendar up-to-date with changes to events hosted by our partners, yet we encourage you to check with the event organizers directly if you have any questions about the status of an event.